GWR 5101 Class

The GWR 5101 Class or 'Large Prairie' was a class of 2-6-2T steam locomotives of the Great Western Railway.

This article is about the 140 locomotives built in 1929–49. For the 40 locomotives built in 1903–06, see GWR 5100 Class.
GWR 5101 Class
5164 at Totnes in 1958
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
DesignerCharles Collett
BuilderGWR Swindon Works
Build date1929–1949
Total produced140
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 • Whyte2-6-2T
 • UIC1′C1′ h2t
Gauge4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Leading dia.3 ft 2 in (0.965 m)
Driver dia.5 ft 8 in (1.727 m)
Trailing dia.3 ft 8 in (1.118 m)
Length41 ft (12.50 m)
Loco weight78.45 long tons (79.71 t; 87.86 short tons)
Fuel typeCoal
Fuel capacity4.0 long tons (4.1 t; 4.5 short tons)
Water cap2,000 imp gal (9,100 L; 2,400 US gal)
Firebox:
 • Firegrate area		20.35 sq ft (1.891 m2)
BoilerGWR Number 2
Boiler pressure200 psi (1,400 kPa)
Heating surface:
 • Tubes and flues		1,144.94 sq ft (106.368 m2)
 • Firebox121.8 sq ft (11.32 m2)
Superheater:
​
 • Heating area82.2 sq ft (7.64 m2)
CylindersTwo
Cylinder size18 in × 30 in (457 mm × 762 mm)
Performance figures
Tractive effort24,300 lbf (108 kN)
Career
OperatorsGWR » BR
ClassGWR 5101
Power classGWR D
BR 4MT
Numbers5101 - 5199, 4100 - 4179
Axle load classGWR Blue
LocaleWestern Region
WithdrawnApril 1956 – November 1965
Disposition8 preserved, 1 used for spares, 1 rebuilt to freelance; remainder scrapped

History
5101 Class member 4176 banks a mixed-freight train up the bank towards Dainton tunnel, from Newton Abbot towards Plymouth on the Exeter to Plymouth Line in South Devon, 1961

The 5101 Class were medium-sized tank engines used for suburban and local passenger services all over the Great Western Railway system. The class was an updated version, by Collett, of Churchward's 1903 3100/5100 Class.

The original 40 members of the 3100 class were renumbered 5100 and 5111 to 5149 in 1927. The first batches of 5101s filled in the numbers 5101 to 5110 and extended the class from 5150 to 5189. They were little changed from the Churchward locomotives as they then were, but had an increased axle loading of 17 long tons 12 cwt (39,400 lb or 17.9 t); the maximum permitted for the ‘Blue’ route availability. Bunkers were of the standard Collett design with greater coal capacity. The 5100 number series was exhausted in 1934, and further new locomotives were numbered from 4100. The last 20 were built after nationalisation.[1]


As both freight and passenger traffic on branch lines declined post-World War II with increasing volumes of private motor cars, and replacement on urban services by diesel-powered rail cars, the bulk of the class found itself allocated to various mainline support duties, mainly banking and piloting, often on the South Devon Banks on the Exeter to Plymouth Line, or around the Severn Tunnel on the South Wales Main Line.

A number of the class - 4110, 4115, 4121, 4144, 4150, 4156 and 4160 - ended their operational lives allocated to the major locomotive shed (88E) at Severn Tunnel Junction, undertaking piloting and banking duties through both the Severn Tunnel and the associated goods yard.[2] Assistance was needed by all heavy trains through the Severn Tunnel, which entailed: 3.5 miles (5.6 km) of 1-in-90 down to the middle of the tunnel; then a further 3.5 miles (5.6 km) at 1-in-100 up to Pilning; a short level then 3.5 miles (5.6 km) more at 1-in-100 to Patchway. However, the pilot locomotive usually came off at Pilning. Several of this group were sold for scrap to Woodham Brothers and consequently have survived into preservation.

Accidents and incidents

Withdrawal

The below list shows when all of the original 5101's and later 4100's were withdrawn from service.

Table of withdrawals
YearQuantity in
service at
start of year		Number withdrawnQuantity
withdrawn		Locomotive numbers
1956140115159.
1957139565107/09/56–57/61.
195813410164138–39, 5105/08/60/62/65/68/71–72.
19591244205170/86/89/96.
196012016364162/64/70, 5102–04/06/10/50/55/63/69/78–79/85/97.
196110411474117/23, 5158/66/74–77/94–95/98.
19629322694102/06/12/16/18/26/29/45–46/52/63, 5151/67/73/80–83/87–88/90/93.
19637114834114/19/27/34/40–42/49, 5101/52/54/64/92/99.
196457281114101/03–05/08–09/20/22/24/28/30–33/35–37/43/53/59/66–67/71/73–74, 5153/84/91.
196529291404100/07/10–11/13/15/21/25/44/47–48/50–51/54–58/60–61/65/68–69/72/75–79.

Preservation

Ten of the class avoiding scrapping in the 1960s (six built in the 1930s before WW2 and four built after WW2 in the late 1940s, one of which under the British Railways banner). As of 2017, five have run in preservation, one is under active restoration, two are essentially in scrapyard condition and two have acted as donor locomotives for other projects:

Number Built Withdrawn Service Life Owner Current Location Status Notes Image
5164 Nov 1930 Apr 1963 32 Years, 5 months 5164 Preservation Group Barrow Hill Engine Shed Boiler certificate expired 5 January 2014 Normally located at the Severn Valley Railway, currently on display at Barrow Hill MPD for at least 12 months.
5193 Oct 1934 Jun 1962 27 Years, 8 months West Somerset Railway plc West Somerset Railway Operational (Donor locomotive) Originally built in 1934, withdrawn in 1962 and recovered from Woodham Brothers scrapyard in 1979. Rebuilt by the West Somerset Railway into a 2-6-0 resembling a small boilered version of the GWR 4300 Class, which has been numbered 9351. Returned to service in 2019 following an overhaul.
5199 Nov 1934 Mar 1963 28 Years, 3 months Llangollen Railway Llangollen Railway Operational Overhaul completed 23 November 2014
4110 Oct 1936 Jun 1965 28 Years, 8 months Dartmouth Steam Railway East Somerset railway Under restoration Sold in May 2015 by GWR Preservation Group Limited of Southall Railway Centre to WSR plc. Moved to Minehead 16 June 2015. Sold in January 2019 to the Paignton and Dartmouth Steam Railway. On 10 January it was moved to the East Somerset railway for restoration to begin. There it will run for three years.
4115 Oct 1936 Jun 1965 28 Years, 8 months Great Western Society Didcot Railway Centre Donor locomotive Built October 1936, withdrawn from service in June 1965. One of the "Barry Ten", she was sold to the Great Western Society, Didcot in 2010, to act as a donor locomotive for the creation of two new locomotives:[5]
  • GWR 4700 Class 2-8-0 No. 4709, to which it will donate: front end extension frames and cylinder sub-assembly; six of the eight 5 ft 8in driving wheels required; frame stays; footplate supports; brake hangers; vacuum brake cylinder and reservoir; weighshaft and bearings
  • GWR 2221 Class County Tank 4-4-2T, to which it will donate its boiler.
4121 Dec 1937 Jun 1965 27 Years, 6 months Tyseley Locomotive Works Unrestored, partially stripped Stored at Tyseley in a partially stripped down state
4141 Aug 1946 Mar 1963 16 Years, 7 months Epping Ongar Railway Awaiting completion of repairs Returned to steam in 2012 after an overhaul, but currently out of service awaiting boiler repairs.
4144 Sept 1946 Jun 1965 18 Years, 8 months Great Western Society Didcot Railway Centre Operational Returned to steam in 2015 after an overhaul. On loan to the Kent & East Sussex Railway for the 2020 season.
4150 Jun 1947 Jun 1965 17 Years, 11 months 4150 fund Severn Valley Railway Restoration in progress
4160 Sept 1948 Jun 1965 16 Years, 8 months 4160 Ltd Llangollen Railway Under Overhaul Overhauled in 2007, operated on the West Somerset Railway. Sent to the Llangollen Railway in January 2016 for overhaul

Models

Graham Farish manufacture a model of the Large Prairie in N scale. Hornby have manufactured a model of the class in 00 gauge in both Great Western and British railway liveries. Heljan are planning on producing a model of the large prairie in O gauge in 2017 [6]

gollark: I would like a shorter one, see.
gollark: Do you have alternative suggestions?
gollark: Why?
gollark: osmarks' website.
gollark: It's reasonably short, captures the osmarks.tk™ spirit™, and does not place me at the mercy of Lichtenstein or something

See also

References
  1. http://www.greatwestern.org.uk/m_in_262.htm
  2. http://www.4150.org.uk/4150_history.html
  3. "Light at the end of the tunnel for Severn 'Prairie'". Steam Railway. Peterborough: Bauer Consumer Media Ltd (455): 40–42. 17 June 2016. ISSN 0143-7232.
  4. "Four killed and 50 injured in train crash". The Times (51243). London. 1 December 1948. col A-B, p. 4.
  5. "Frames Ordered for New GWR 47xx Class as Prairie Survivor is Dismantled". rail.co.uk. 8 March 2012.
  6. http://www.hornbymagazine.com/2016/11/21/first-painted-o-gauge-prairie/
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